H&S scene;

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Captain Cleanup
What can CPAs do to help fight
pollution and clean up our
environment? Before you say
"Nothing/1 read about what
one CPA has done.
Cruising up the river counting
derelict vessels, drainpipes and
industrial outfalls may not be
your idea of fun in the sun,
but Cary Findlay, a principal in
our Miami Office, has not only
indulged in such activities, but
has made it pay off. He and his
wife, Joyce, received cruise
tickets to the Bahamas as an
award for the most active
sub-committee of the New Miami
Action Committee of the Greater
Miami Chamber of Commerce.
When appointed chairman of the
Miami River Cleanup Group in
mid-1970, Cary accepted the
assignment to press for a total
cleanup of the Miami River.
A large order indeed! Assembling
a dozen committee members, Cary
held discussions on how to
tackle this problem. An
orientation trip up the river was
the start. Prom there they were
off and running. With the aid of
government officials, students
from the Miami-Dade Junior
College, the news media, women
from the Junior League and H&S
staffmen Bill Mcllwain, Bill
Boswell (and his wife Jaye) and
Bob Knaul, Captain Findlay put
together a flotilla on the river
in March 1971 that was reminiscent
of the evaluation of Dunkirk.
The purpose of the flotilla was
to note and photograph suspected
derelicts, river bank pollution,
and outfall and drainage pipes
in the river. An inventory was
also made of live-aboard and
other boats on the river.
A fifty-page report of
violations and their location was
presented to a conference on the
restoration of the Miami River
sponsored by the Secretary of
State of the State of Florida.
Cary reported that more than
1,000 boats were counted by the
group in one afternoon. More than
700 of these vessels were
classified as live-aboard or
pleasure craft. It was concluded
that a large amount of sewage
and other debris was being
discharged into the river from
these vessels, Strong
legislation to meet this
situation is being pursued.
Twenty-two suspected derelicts,
many breaking up, were
photographed and reported to the
proper authorities for removal.
Forty-one drainpipes and outfalls
were sighted as possible
polluters, and a list of them was
turned over to the Pollution
Control Office for follow-up.
Some cases have been prosecuted
and a number of pollution sources
have been sealed. The bad
conditions of the river banks-broken
sea walls, trash, junk and
other debris—were called to
the attention of the Health
Department as a serious health
hazard and are also being
pursued with zoning
and pollution authorities.
In the latter part of June of
this year Cary organized a second
flotilla to follow up the March
report. "We saw that quite a bit
had already been done toward
cleaning up the mess," says Cary,
"particularly with the removal of
derelict vessels. But some of
the other problems are going to
take a little longer to solve,
We're going to continue to exert
pressure wherever we feel it is
needed, of course, whether the
problem is the pollution of the
Miami River or whatever type of
environmental pollution it might be.
"If more people would just get
involved in activities like this
inspection flotilla, we would be a
lot closer to solving such
problems wherever we find them." •